Electric switch of the toggle type



Aug. 17, 1954 L. A. SANDA ELECTRIC SWITCH OF THE TOGGLE TYPE Filed Aug. 23, 1950 INVENTOR LADD/E A. SANDA 23 2mm Arr'rs Patented Aug. 17, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,686,851 ELECTRIC SWITCH OF THE TOGGLE TYPE Laddie A.

Sanda, Newton, Mass.,

assignor to Ark-Les Switch Corporation, Watertown, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application August 23, 1950, Serial No. 180,962 1 Claim. (01. 200-16) This invention relates to an electric switch having a projecting handle to be rocked back and to h to operate the switch,

secured together without the use of rivets, screws or other similar fastening elements.

Other advantageous features of construction Figure 8 is a perspective view of one of the side .1.; contact elements;

Figure 9 is a perspective view form of side contact element;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the bridging conductors;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the insulation box, a portion being broken away; and

Figure 12 is a perspective view of the box inverted.

of a modified end. The contacts 32 and ted from each other contacts 36 and 38 are similarly separated and insulated from each other by the fin 24. A pair of contact elements 40 and 42 are mounted in the side walls of the box so as to face each other from the midportions of the respective side walls. Each of these elements has a lower portion 44 wall into the interior of the box.

A carrier 50 is slidably mounted in the box, this carrier preferably being a rectangular block of insulation having slots 52 and 54 extending into the ends thereof to receive respectively the The side faces of the carrier 50 are made concave as indicated in Figure 2 to provide clearance when the midportions of the bridging conductors are sprung inward.

each other as between the bridging side elements for all positions of the carrier.

contact elements press the carrier to one end or the other of its stroke in the box. When it is at the end of its stroke, the bridging conductors engage the two fixed contact element at the corresponding end of the box. Each of the dihedral portions of the fixed terminals 40 and 42 may have a slot 65 at its apex, as shown in Figures 2 and 9. When the carrier is at the midpoint of its stroke in the box, the apex of each dihedral projection 63 and E i enters the slot or notch 65 in the corresponding fixed element M! or 42 and holds the carrier in its mid position. Thus the switch has three possible positions in which the side contact elements may be electrically connected to the fixed contact elements at one end of the switch, to those at the other end or to neither.

The box and assembled parts are carefully designed so as to provide effective insulationbetween the several charged parts. For this purpose the carrier 52 itself is of insulating material and has end slots 52 and 54 by which it telescopes with the fins 22 and 24 to provide a horizontal barrier of insulating material between the charged elements of the switch on one side or the median plane and those on the other. Underlying the carrier Eli is a floor plate 56 having end slots Bl to accommodate the fins 22 and 2 5 and having side notches 88 to accommodate the dihedral projections of the fixed side elements. This fioor plate rests on the top edges of the par tition members 26, 28, and 3b and thus effectively insulates the bridging conductors and their cooperating terminals from the terminal portion of the various conductors which are disposed within the lower compartments in the box. A top plate 59 of insulating material is preferably employed on the top of the box, this plate resting on the upper edges of the shell of the box and the upper edges of the fins 22 and 24 which project in from the ends of the box. This plate has a central aperture or slot it. Overlying the top plate 69 is a sheet metal cover plate which is provided at its corners with tongue 12 adapted to be bent to catch under suitable shoulders M which may be formed on the outside of the box wall. On the cover plate H1 a socket member 8!! is centrally mounted, this socket member being preferably externally screw threaded so that a nut may be threaded thereon to assist in securing the switch in place for use. As shown in Figure 3, the socket member 80 has a cylindrical bore which tapers slightly at its upper end. Within the socket bore is fitted a ball 82, the two elements forming a ball-and-socket joint. A lever 84 projects up from the ball 82 to be grasped for the operation of the switch. Projecting down from the ball 82 and through the aperture 16 is a stem 86 having a rounded tip 88 engaging in a central recess 99 in the carrier 50'. A suitably shaped rubber ring or washer 92 is mounted in the socket 80 below the ball 82 to maintain the ball in its proper position within the socket the ring 92 has an approximately triangular crosssection forming an upper cavity to fit against the ball 82 and a frusto-conical lower cavity to permit rocking movement of the ball and handle assembly. Such rocking movement results in arcuate movement of the tip 88 toward one or the other end of the box so as to move the contact elements of the bridging conductors at the leading end of the carrier into direct contact with the opposing fixed contact elements in the box.

The current is preferably introduced into the switch through the side contact elements 40 and 42 which are always in contact with the bridging conductors 56 and 58 respectively. Movement of the carrier to one end or the other of the box thus connects the side elements to one of the pairs of fixed elements at the end of the box. The side contact elements M1 and 42 thus have the double function of being current carrying contact members and acting mechanically to press the carrier toward one or the other of its extreme positions.

Figure 8 shows a modified form of side contact element in which the dihedral member has no slot 65. When contact elements of this kind are mounted in the box 28, there is no stable neutral position for the carrier 50. In other words, the carrier must occupy one or the other of its extreme positions when left to itself.

I claim:

An electric switch comprising a rectangular box of insulation having therein two aligned fins of insulation projecting toward each other from opposite ends of the box, four metal switch elements mounted within the box against the surface portions of said ends on both sides of said fins, a carrier of insulation slidable longitudinally within said box, said carrier having a slot in each end into which project said fins respectively, a pair of bridging conductors carried by said carrier, each said bridging conductor consisting of a strip of metal extending along a side or the carrier with extremities bent to bear against the ends of the carrier and to be moved by the carrier into selective contact with theopposing switch elements at the ends of the box, each said conductor having a 'midportion bent to form an outwardly projecting V, a metal switch element mountedin each side wall of the box opposite one of said conductors and including an inwardly directed V portion in engagement with the V of the corresponding conductor, a cover on the box, and an operating lever workably mounted on carrier to shift the carrier longitudinally in the box when the lever is rocked.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS the cover and engaging the: 

